The Latest

I worked on this scrapbook page about our trip to the Academy of Sciences when we were in San Francisco last. I've never really ever done anything with circles on a page, I'm generally more linear minded. The circles on the overlays made me think of cells or something. With the exception of the overlays, I was pleased to use up supplies that I already owned. This is also a great way to use up scraps of patterned paper. I had fun being a little wild on a page:


This page about the Japanese Tea Gardens is pretty much complete, I was working on it this week. I made my own template for the patterned paper, I like the flourish shape.

I did some fussy cutting with my scraps to create accents to fill in "dead" spaces:

The tea gardens picture in particular shows that you don't have to spend a lot of money to make a good page- I used cardstock, patterned paper, a butterfly punch, some ribbon and a stamped journaling spot.

Happy Scrappin!

Really?

So I get emails about scrapbooking and this image popped into my inbox and this one wins the "Really???" award:

In case you can't tell, someone has now made Ripley's Believe It Or Not scrapbook paper. Have we been transported to 1999 when all the scrapbook paper looked like this? Is this collection attractive? No! I strongly opposed bad design! It really drives me insane.

Honestly, how often would YOU use this design of paper?? Like never, right? How often do you go to a Ripley's museum and find the need to have matching paper for your photos? Why would you want to have these captions around your pic? In this time of economic turmoil, people aren't spending as much on "frills" like scrapbook supplies...shouldn't one be designing products that people will actually want to buy in these hard times?

To the kids whose photos their moms scrap using this paper, I'm sorry. Truly.

When I worked at Craft Outlet, the buyer drove us crazy. We had a lot of paper that was just too specific for it to sell....I seem to recall a lot of Red Hat Society and Build-a-Bear Workshop paper that never sold. Scrapbook paper needs to be a bit more general for it to sell! And much more attractive. HELLOOOO!!!!

And that is my rant for the day.

Jen's page

My cousin Jennifer had Baby Cashew, aka Raegan in October and since I know she loves to scrapbook but has no time cause of the baby, I made a baby shower layout using the pics my aunt sent us:

My cousin is doing a jungle theme in Raegan's room, so hence the critters:

I only glued the large pic on three sides, creating a pocket for a tabbed card that holds all the gift info on it. Even if this is in a page protector, you can still grab it out from the top (I hate it when people make interactive page elements that you can't access through a page protector!).

What do we learn from this? Save your scraps! This layout was dirt cheap because I didn't buy anything for it- all the animal pieces are cut from cardstock scraps. I designed the animals myself, but you could find animal or other shapes online to trace or even trace cookie cutters. I pre-poked holes in the cardstock before stitching with embroidery floss (which is pretty stinkin' cheap) so that sewing was easier. When sewing on cardstock, you have to be careful that you don't pull too hard or you'll rip through your paper. You don't even have to have knots on the back- I secured the ends of the thread with a little adhesive. I used ric-rac for the alligator's teeth- I love glue dots for attaching things like that on pages. I used my smaller scalloped scissors on the big pic and my huge scalloped scissors on the smaller pic.

Another trick on this page was the collage of all the shower pics- I scanned the pics, then created the collage in Photoshop Elements (I made sure it was 8x10) and then got it printed as an 8x10 enlargement at Walmart. Much cheaper than getting a bunch of little wallets printed (which is what I had to do before I had Photoshop at my house!). With most pictures, you don't need to see them big, you just need them to get a sense of what took place.

I haven't made a page for awhile, it felt good to do so. I liked it alot, it was hard to mail away!

Secrets

Inspired by Lisa's post about her secrets, I thought I'd post some of my own. Since I have no need for nipple cream (see Lisa's post), I thought I'd direct this towards my being thrifty/crafty.

• You can find a lot of free patterns and templates for crafts online, I just google what it is I want. I've found some great quilt patterns and baby bootie patterns by doing that.

• If you can't find what you want online, try JoAnn's- but watch the circulars for when they have patterns on sale for a $1 or $1.99. That saves you a good $15! I usually don't need a pattern for a specific deadline, so I make a list of what brands/pattern numbers I want and then buy them cheap when it's on sale. I've got a lot of great patterns this way- skirts, bags, tree skirts, etc.

• If you need a pattern for a deadline, don't buy it at Joann's...go down the street to Wal-Mart. Their patterns are always half off of retail price and they have a pretty good selection.

• I like to pick up pre-measured fat quarters of fabric at JoAnn's when they go on sale for $1- there's lots of great prints available and I use them for projects and on scrapbook pages.

• Sign up for coupons- I use a coupon whenever I go to Michael's or JoAnn's. At BB&B, do your math- are you going to save more with a 20%, a $5 off of $15 purchase or the new $10 off of $30 coupon? I used to have to tell customers all the time that the other coupon in their hand would save them more!

• Go online: Since I don't have access to a lot of stores out here, I can usually find specific scrapbooking products I want on ebay and it's usually not too expensive. I used to buy nifty butterfly plates on ebay too. I go to Amazon for books, they're always cheaper and you can get free shipping for orders over $25. I get most of my photo/art books that way.

• I love to go junking- and out here in rural PA you can find some good deals. Would you believe I got these silver pieces for $1.99 ea? They're in really good condition too. One even says "William Rogers" on the bottom- good stuff. I find treasures for just a couple bucks all the time.

• I am a magazinephile, it's been hard to cut back now that I don't have an income. Our library sells donated magazine for 10 cents ea, I can usually find some good ones. Your library might do something similar. I can also check them out from the library as well.

• I do always buy Martha Stewart Weddings though. I'm not trying to sound pathetic- I really like the photography and I get inspired by the color schemes shown. I've gotten some good party ideas (like for my 25th) too.

• I can usually find great deals at Fashion Bug- every now and then there's something good and cheap on clearance. I recently got a little cover-up jacket for $11.

• One good thing about PA- you don't pay sales tax on certain neccessities, like shoes. I didn't know that til I bought a pair of tennies last month! People come here from neighboring states to shop. PA does ream you in other tax areas, though so I don't know if that's really a bargain.

• I buy my scrapbooking staples, like adhesive and ribbon, etc at Wal-Mart. I love glue dots- they hold anything together! Wal-Mart has stepped up their scrapbook selection- I love the new Martha Stewart products they carry.

• I save all my useable scraps of cardstock- and I use them! I have a drawer full of scraps. By now, I have pretty much any size/color I need. I can make little accents on cards and pages.
• Anything for scrapbooking that I buy has to have multiple functions- like with rubber stamps. They have to be generic enough that I can use them in several different ways on my cards and pages.

• Stressed? Try playing with a kneaded eraser- it's similar to silly putty and helps break boredom and tension in my classes.

That's what I got so far, maybe I can think of more hints later.

Re-do

I recently ripped apart what I had put together years ago for a MTC scrapbook. Awhile ago I realized that I had to talk far too much when showing people my pictures- it was devoid of journaling! I got to looking at it more objectively and realized that it didn't tell my story well at all- no titles, journaling and the pictures were grouped together strangely. There were lots of redundant photos as well. I had made a lot of poor decisions while putting it together in the wee hours of the morning! So I've got plans for a new and improved book...thankfully I didn't get too far scrapbooking the rest of my mission- some tweaks are needed there too. I saved the stuff I had used (mostly cardstock) so I can re-use a lot of it. Now that it's been a few years since the mission, I have a better idea of what was important and what stories need to be told. Wish me luck!